Valentine's Day
by Desslok
Summary: A fluffy little Valentine's day story, set in the "Interregnum" continuum


"Valentine's Day" by Desslok  
  
------------------------------  
  
[Author's Note: This story is an addendum to "Interregnum", set   
  
between Chapters 7 and 8, between Usagi's wedding and Makoto's   
  
visit to Ami in San Francisco. This story should stand on its   
  
own if you haven't read "Interregnum", but if you haven't, and   
  
you like this, please go read that, too! :)]  
  
------------------------------  
  
Ami groaned as she rolled over to shut off her alarm clock,   
  
shivering as her arm left the warm coziness of the blankets.   
  
Briefly, she debated lingering in the bed for a while, but then   
  
she recalled what day it was. The memory jolted her into full   
  
consciousness and propelled her out of the bed and toward the   
  
bathroom.   
  
A minute or two later, as the warm water of her shower cascaded   
  
over her, Ami pondered the day to come. Of course, Valentine's   
  
Day would have to come on a Friday this year. Her club was   
  
holding a dance for the occasion, naturally. Fortunately, she'd   
  
gotten out of decoration duty. Spending the afternoon hanging up   
  
hearts and flowers would not have been pleasant. She could just   
  
imagine how it would look, all pink and red and sweet. Somehow,   
  
the image of Chibi-Usa exploding in the middle of an auditorium   
  
came to mind, bringing a guilty chuckle. At least sitting   
  
outside selling tickets she wouldn't be surrounded by all the   
  
reminders that she had no girlfriend and that her unrequited love   
  
was thousands of miles away. With a heavy sigh, Ami shut off the   
  
water and got on with her day.  
  
----  
  
"Wait, you mean that the women are all expected to buy chocolates   
  
for the men?!" Elizabeth asked with an incredulous look. As they   
  
did every Friday afternoon, Ami and her best American friend sat   
  
in the local coffee shop, sipping mochas and catching up on the   
  
gossip of the week.   
  
"Mmm hmm," Ami nodded. Truly, she had never thought anything of   
  
that tradition. It was simply the way things were done.  
  
Elizabeth grunted derisively, making Ami feel momentarily   
  
defensive of her culture. Noting Ami's expression, the tall   
  
blonde shook her head and shrugged her shoulders. "To each their   
  
own, I guess. You did say there is a day when those shiftless   
  
bastards have to get off their lazy butts and buy something for   
  
the women in their lives, right?"  
  
Ami laughed and nodded affirmatively. "Yes, there is. It's   
  
really not so bad."  
  
"Hey," Elizabeth asked suddenly, sitting forward in her chair,   
  
"how do Japanese lesbians celebrate Valentine's Day, then?"  
  
The question had never occurred to Ami, so she quickly tried to   
  
recall if she had ever observed Haruka or Michiru celebrating   
  
Valentine's Day. She vaguely recalled Michiru buying something   
  
for Haruka one winter, but was that February? "I don't know," she   
  
finally admitted. "I only knew one lesbian couple and never   
  
noticed what they did for Valentine's Day." Ami dropped her eyes   
  
and added, "I guess I'm lucky. I never had to buy anything for   
  
anyone."   
  
Seeing the wistful expression on her friend's face, Elizabeth   
  
laid a hand gently over hers. "It's ok, Ami. I'm sure next year   
  
your chocolate expenses will go through the roof!" Noting Ami's   
  
skeptical look, she swiftly added, "She is going to be here in a   
  
couple weeks and I cannot imagine that she'd be flying all this   
  
way just to say 'Hi, how are ya?'."   
  
"I told you, I'm trying not to have any expectations. It's just a   
  
friendly visit."  
  
"I know, I know, that way you won't be disappointed." Elizabeth   
  
sighed with exasperation. "I swear, you keep yourself so tightly   
  
under control, if she ever does kiss you, you're just going to go   
  
boom!"  
  
That image brought a shy smile to Ami's face and a telltale   
  
warmth to her cheeks. Knowing that she was blushing only caused   
  
her to blush more until she finally had to hide her face behind   
  
her hands. Elizabeth laughed at her fondly and decided to give   
  
her a break by changing the subject.  
  
"So, you still planning to work the front desk today?"  
  
Ami bid fond farewell to her momentary fantasies and returned to   
  
the present. "Yes. Someone has to, after all, and I think I'd   
  
rather not be surrounded by lovey-dovey lesbians tonight."  
  
Now, it was Elizabeth's turn to sigh forlornly. "Lucky you."  
  
"Hey now, I'm the wallflower, not you. Besides, I thought you'd   
  
decided to finally do something about Shana."  
  
"I know, but I'm afraid I'm going to chicken out," Elizabeth   
  
admitted sheepishly. She started to add something, but instead   
  
fell silent, her eyes falling away from Ami's.  
  
Ami didn't need to hear the words to guess the rest of   
  
Elizabeth's sentence. 'You're afraid of being hurt again, like I   
  
hurt you,' she thought, recalling that unpleasant night a couple   
  
months ago. Deep inside, there was still a part of Ami that   
  
chided her for turning down the love of this beautiful, smart,   
  
funny woman. Briefly, she imagined walking into the auditorium   
  
tonight on Elizabeth's arm, but even as she pictured the two of   
  
them dancing, Elizabeth's features melted into those of her Mako-  
  
chan and she realized for the hundredth time that she'd done the   
  
right thing. Makoto would always be her first, last and dearest   
  
love, just as Elizabeth would always be a dear, dear friend.   
  
"You will not chicken out, Elizabeth-chan! I will not allow it.   
  
What would Sailor Mercury say? She would say, 'Do your best,   
  
Elizabeth-chan!' that's what!"  
  
The blonde woman laughed and began to blush herself. "Do you   
  
really think that's what she would say? Well, if Sailor Mercury   
  
would want me to go for it, then who am I to deny her? I am her   
  
love slave, after all." She sighed theatrically.  
  
"You wish!" Ami replied. The two young women laughed together   
  
and moved on to other subjects entirely.  
  
----  
  
Not for the first, nor the last time, Ami wished she had Sailor   
  
Pluto's powers as she glanced up at the clock hanging on the wall   
  
across from her table. The coins and bills in the tray before   
  
her vibrated in tune with the music pounding through the doors   
  
and walls behind her. 'Only another hour or so and I can close   
  
up.'   
  
The music suddenly grew much louder as the doors opened. "Hi   
  
Chrissy," Ami said to the petite brunette who emerged, "how's it   
  
going in there?"   
  
Chrissy beamed, wiping the sweat from her brow, "It's great!   
  
Best turnout we've ever had for a dance and the DJ is just   
  
phenomenal." Ami smiled happily. They had gone to a lot of   
  
trouble putting this dance on. "I just came out to tell you that   
  
you can close up shop," Chrissy continued.   
  
"Great, I'll lock the tray up in the office and head home, then,"   
  
Ami replied. If she could get home by midnight, maybe she could   
  
catch Makoto on line, as it would be morning in Europe then. She   
  
wished she'd been able to find time to get home during the day,   
  
but after her chat with Elizabeth, she'd had to go to class,   
  
visit the lab, grab a quick dinner, and then hurry here.   
  
Ami felt a wave of gratitude for whoever had invented web   
  
greeting cards. She had set up a card for Makoto last week timed   
  
to arrive today. Of course, choosing the correct card had taken   
  
her a week before that. She'd struggled to find something that   
  
was not over-the-top gushy, but at least had tinges of romance in   
  
it, if Makoto chose to look for them.   
  
"Hold on there, Aimster," Chrissy admonished, taking the money   
  
box out of Ami's hands. "I'll take this and lock it away. You go   
  
inside and at least look around! You helped as much as anyone."   
  
Ignoring Ami's stammered protests, Chrissy gave her a friendly   
  
shove through the doors.   
  
It took a few moments for Ami's eyes (and ears) to adjust to the   
  
atmosphere. The lights were off, except for red and pink mood   
  
lighting around the edges of the auditorium and the DJ's light   
  
display. 'Just in time,' Ami thought wryly as she realized a   
  
slow song had just come on. Turning her attention away from the   
  
happy couples, she examined the decorations with a critical eye.   
  
"Pink Sugar Heart Attack, indeed," she murmured to herself. The   
  
hearts, the love song playing, the couples pressed together close   
  
all combined to remind Ami of just how lonely she was and how   
  
much she missed Makoto. 'I'd better go,' she thought, ashamed at   
  
her reaction, but unable to avoid it.   
  
As she turned to leave, however, she caught sight of something   
  
that erased her depression. Towards the center of the dance   
  
floor, Elizabeth danced arm-in-arm with Shana. As she watched,   
  
Shana pulled Elizabeth closer and whispered something in her ear.   
  
Even from this distance in the dim light, Ami could see   
  
Elizabeth's smile as she laid her head gently down against   
  
Shana's shoulder and nuzzled her. The sight of her friend's joy   
  
banished Ami's sadness. 'Do your best, Elizabeth-chan!' she   
  
exulted silently. 'And you do your best, too, Mizuno Ami' that   
  
little voice inside her demanded. With a curt nod and a resolute   
  
stride, Ami left the dance and headed home.  
  
----  
  
Ami arrived back at her apartment and hurriedly dropped off her   
  
things, kicking her shoes off into a corner as she dashed to her   
  
office. Grateful that she'd opted for a high-speed connection,   
  
she jiggled the mouse and waited for the screen to come to life.   
  
No waiting interminable seconds for a dial-up connection for   
  
Mizuno Ami! The sight of Makoto's active user name in her   
  
messenger program erased any lingering sadness within Ami's   
  
heart.  
  
BbblSprA: Mako-chan! I'm glad I caught you!  
  
Thundergrl:me 2 ^__^   
  
Thundergrl: need 2 go 2 work soon tho   
  
BbbleSprA:That's Ok, Mako-chan, I should get to bed soon too.  
  
Thundergrl: happy V'Day  
  
BbbleSprA:Thank you and same to you. Did you get your card?  
  
Thundergrl: yep! it was great! ^__^ how was your dance?  
  
BbbleSprA: It went well. We had a big turnout.  
  
Thundergrl: so, you dance with anyone... elizabth maybe?  
  
Ami thought a while before answering. She had told Makoto about   
  
the incident with Elizabeth. She had no desire to keep secrets   
  
from the woman she loved. Makoto rarely mentioned it, however,   
  
and hadn't asked any questions at all about it. Ami couldn't   
  
decide what that meant.   
  
BbbleSprA:No, I worked the door. I think Elizabeth and Shana   
  
hit it off, though. They were dancing pretty close.  
  
Thundergrl:good  
  
Ami wished she were talking with Makoto right now. Hearing her   
  
intonation would have revealed so much potentially. How would   
  
she ever survive the two weeks until Makoto's visit?! She   
  
desperately wanted to think that Elizabeth was right, that   
  
everything she'd hoped for all these years was really just a   
  
couple weeks away. If only Makoto would give her some definite   
  
sign...  
  
Thundergrl: gotta run ami-chan... v-day weekend is busy.. hope   
  
you liked your present!! loveya!  
  
--Thundergrl has logged off  
  
'Present?' Ami wondered, even as she heard the knocking on her   
  
door. Opening it, she saw her next door neighbor. "Yes?"  
  
"Fed Ex left something for you while you were out, Ami," her   
  
neighbor explained. "Here you go." The young woman handed Ami a   
  
large box.   
  
"Thank you!" Ami called out, taking the box inside. Carefully,   
  
she slit the tape and flipped open the flaps. With a cry of joy,   
  
she lifted the huge, heart-shaped candy box out of the packing.   
  
'She bought me chocolates.' Tears began to well, moistening   
  
Ami's deep blue eyes. Finally, she knew for sure. Two more   
  
weeks. "Happy Valentine's Day, Mako, my love," Ami whispered. 


End file.
